


School Society

by inshock_sherlock



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: AU, Angst, Multi, School, Secret Society, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-06-18
Updated: 2013-06-18
Packaged: 2017-12-15 09:10:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,031
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/847792
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inshock_sherlock/pseuds/inshock_sherlock
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>New school, fresh start, right? John Watson was advised to avoid trouble at all costs, but John is a magnet. Trouble follows him wherever he goes. When he enrolls at the local boarding school, things take a turn for the worst and he discovers a dark hidden world behind those solid, stone walls.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. New Beginnings

'I am a Watson,' John thought, his fists balled up with rage, 'and I have no need to put up with this crap.' He raised his left fist with a great force between the dark-haired boy's eyes and again under his chin with his right. The boy fell to the floor, clutching his face in panic, sniffling into the grass that lay soft beneath him. John backed away, observing the consequences that had led from his actions and he felt strangely satisfied, yet scared. He panicked, leading to the evacuation of the scene as fast as he could, pacing out of the gate and around the corner.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

They say that a new school equals a new start, however John Watson felt that the events that haunt him followed him everywhere. He was cynical and felt that everybody knew his darkest secrets and were ready to use them against him whenever they wanted to get their own way, or to ruin him.

"Don't worry, John, you will be fine." His mother brushed down his blazer and tightened his tie. "Just avoid trouble this time." With those words, she blew a kiss and began to embark on her journey to the car, leaving John to enter the reception of his new school and introduce himself. To make a fresh start.

John hiked up the grey stone steps, observing the pristine condition that the well-kept flowerbed were in and the neat hedges that bordered the steps. He opened the heavy oak doors, grunting in the process, and entered the brightly lit waiting room. After signing in with the young, red haired woman whom was the school receptionist, he perched himself upon the luxurious light blue sofa and began eyeing up the wide selection of magazines and books. Home & Garden to various cycling magazines. George Orwell to Arthur Conan Doyle.

The headmistress entered with such grace that immediately gave the impression that she must have several decades of experience under her belt. She gave John a warm, welcoming smile and held her hand out, which John immediately grasped in a firm handshake in return. "You must be John Watson."  
"Indeed I am, Ma'am" John replied, nervously. "I moved here from Redditch Comprehensive."

"The culture shock from the transition between comprehensive secondary education and private sixth-form education shouldn't be too demeaning, however, please note that many students, teachers and I, personally, will do our best to accommodate you into our school. I can assure you, John, that you will feel right at home." The headmistress replied in such confidence that made the entire speech seem scripted.

The headmistress led him out from the waiting room and into her office where a student was sat, twiddling his thumbs in hesitation and nervousness. He was rather chubby with scruffy brown hair. His whole appearance was scruffy, from his not-so-fitting trousers to the undone button on his shirt collar. "This is Stamford. He will be your guide. We normally would select your roommate to give you a tour of our school, however, he seems to be rather preoccupied with his work. Stamford has been a fantastic student here for five years, so he is more than worthy of the task." Stamford beams a friendly grin at John whilst the headmistress ushered them out of the door.

Stamford held out a piece of paper in his hand, crumpled up. "This is your timetable for the day. Your weekly timetable will be in your room, however I couldn't get hold of that as I am not your roommate, unfortunately." John looked Stamford in the eye and let a faint smile escape whilst he lifted the piece of paper from his hand and began to tease out the creases to read the text:

_Woodbridge Park College_  
John H. Watson  
Home Class: 12B (HC5C)  
Timetable for estimated day of arrival  
Tuesday September 3rd 

_Period 1 & 2: Biology (SC226B) _  
Break  
Period 3 & 4: English Language (LA52C)  
Lunch  
Period 5 & 6: Mathematics (Mechanics) (MA210B)  
Period 7 & 8: Chemistry (SC221B) 

 

"I am really sorry but I couldn't help reading the timetable and wondering why you chose English Language amongst all these sciencey-mathsey subjects. It's weird. What do you even want to be?" Stamford asked hesitantly, looking at the floor and tapping his foot. 

"I don't know." John said, joining Stamford at looking at the floor. "I guess I was thinking of being a doctor but I want to keep my options open."  
Stamford widened his eyes in surprise. "I would too!" 

"Seriously?" John replied, eyes widening in response. Both boys looked like teenage girls at a concert, standing right in front of their very idols. They both dropped the look and giggled. "12B, what does that mean?" John asked, puzzled. 

"Twelve is your year group. 'B' is your class. That is for homeroom, or registration I think you may call it. It is there to hand out notices, make sure everyone is here and to help student issues, may they arise. I am in 12A unfortunately, so I won't be with you there." 

John frowned at the boy's response, but continued to ask questions about his schedule. "What are all these weird letters? Ess-See-Two-Two-One-Bee, what does that mean?" 

"The first two letters are your lesson, basically the subject the room is dedicated to and the numbers are the room. The last letter is which block the room is in. It is simple once you get used to it but they just want to seem classy and what not." 

"So, I have to go to Biology now, right? Could you show me?" John's brows furrowed, he did not want to go, he didn't feel prepared.  
"Woah, hold it Mr. Academia. It is your first day, so I am obliged to show you around. As a new student, you are excused." 

John was ecstatic about the news, yet he didn't show much excitement on the outside. Maybe it was okay to be considered as 'Mr. Academia.' Maybe it will stop people getting on his back, attempting to know him. Attempting to know his secrets and his desires. He shuddered at this thought before focusing on the present reality.

Stamford and John spent the morning touring all the buildings in the school and the afternoon talking about general things. Family, hobbies, old friends and life in comprehensive on the school field, watching the younger children play cricket. John felt at ease with his new friend and for once, in a long time, he felt comfort.  
On their way back to the sixth form common room, they decided to take an odd route that consisted of walking along a disused IT corridor. John was very hesitant, however Stamford had insisted that it was a shortcut. The boys tread carefully along the blue linoleum, desperate not to get caught by a technician or worse, a teacher. Abruptly, Stamford stopped and whispered, "Did you hear that?" John did not hear anything, yet this stop in motion had him paranoid. He began to shake in fear. He wanted to avoid trouble. Stamford leaned in close towards the dark oak door that was adjacent to both of the boys and rest his ear against it, intensely listening. After a few long seconds, he reached for the golden door handle, turning it slowly despite John's quiet protests. John didn't know whether to act upon his mother's advice and just walk away or follow the excitement that he could feel was behind that door. As the door opened, John couldn't help but peer inside at the bleak darkness. He edged in closer, trying to catch a glimpse at anything suspicious. There was silence. He turned back to face Stamford. "We should really get going."

"No, we have time." Stamford breathed, giving John goosebumps. "Oh, we do have time." John suddenly felt a sharp blow of the large boy's hand against his chest, pushing him into the never-ending darkness of the room. "Welcome to Woodbridge Park." Stamford laughed, slamming the door behind him.  
As John became more orientated, his eyesight became accustomed to the lack of light. He could make out the outline of two figures; one tall and slender, around 6'4" and the other was about a foot smaller and curvier, a female. John gasped for air. It was stuffy and he was panicking. He had not felt panic like this since the incident. 

"John Watson." The female approached him, cloaked. She reached out to drag her neatly manicured fingernails in comfort from his temple to his chin. "Shh, Darling, everything will be okay if you listen." John's eyes watered and his clothes stuck to him as he sweat. He nodded in defeat.  
"You have entered a very dangerous playing field, Watson." The male voice intervened. "This school is not what it seems and-"  
"Yeah, sorry John." The woman interrupted. 

"Shut up for one moment, Sparrow!" The male voice boomed powerfully. "Okay, Owl." She replied. The woman gave up her standing and backed away, allowing the man to finish. 

"As I was saying, this school is not what it seems. It is dangerous. Do not get on the wrong side of anybody. You do not know who are your friends and who aren't. Be careful, John, it wouldn't be good to see... Fresh talent, such as yourself, crushed. Do we?" 

John shook his head, desperate to wriggle up from the ground where the woman's heel was holding him in place. He felt weak and sick but above all, desperate. The heel disappeared, leaving him to relax. As soon as he felt close to recovering, he felt a sharp pain in his upper arm, followed by severe drowsiness that led to eventual nothingness.


	2. New Acquaintances

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> John meets some new acquaintances. Also, 'Sparrow' and 'Owl' seem more dangerous than they first appeared to be.

"First day and found in the old IT corridor. Not a good start, is it Watson?"

John's vision was blurry and disoriented, but he could see a middle-aged dark haired woman stand before him, holding her fingers up towards his face. "How many fingers am I holding up?"

"Four." John groaned. The woman frowned at the boy, whom was laying down on the bed draped in Egyptian cotton like a sacrifice at a dark ritual. The pair made brief, stern eye contact before John's eyes widened in understanding and let out an extended sigh, "Four, Mrs Henley."

The woman nodded and clasped her clipboard, beginning to take notes. "I think you're ready to go. Stay out of trouble, Watson." She finalised the patient's notes with an over-dramatic full stop, swinging her arm back frantically afterwards to point towards the door. "It's six, dinner will be served in the dining hall in approximately ten minutes."

With that information, John heaved himself off the bed, clutching the side for stability whilst making his way to the exit. He was shaky at first but as his confidence grew and he became accustomed to his stance, he was walking normally by the time he left the small room and entered the outside world that was the school corridor.

A hand full of students were sitting on the benches that bordered the corridor, discussing a whole array of subjects; from essays on Shakespeare to the predictions for the final results of the Premier League based upon each team's performance so far. John listened in to snippets of each conversation, trying to sieve through the information to find facts that may help him in this school or, ultimately, to find out who 'Sparrow' and 'Owl' were. Unfortunately his search proved useless, so he turned left into a boy's bathroom.

The room was very brightly lit, which caused John to squint as he entered before his eyes became adjusted to the light. He dragged his feet across the shiny linoleum towards the huge mirror that sat behind the sinks at the other end of the room. He observed his appearance and sighed, reaching to adjust his tie and collar, preening himself to look at least presentable for his first dinner at the school.

As he exited, he felt something solid blocking his way, causing him to fall which scattered books and paper everywhere. "Oh, sorry!" A nervous voice broke out, bending over to pick up her things, "I wasn't looking where I was going. I was daydreaming. I'm so sorry."

"Hey, no worries!" John smiled at the girl, causing her to blush and smile back. He bent down, gathering all the History essays and Biology books off the floor and handed them to the girl in a disorganised mess. "What is your name?"

"Molly. I guess you are new here, am I right?" John walked by her side towards the dinner hall, "Yes. I am. Today is my first day."  
"Ooh!" Molly exclaimed, smiling in excitement. "Did you have a good first day? For school, I mean. Of course nobody enjoys school. I mean, some people do and that is okay, but-"

John cut in to Molly's hesitant communication, "I didn't really get to experience the school today." An 'oh' escaped Molly's thin lips, causing her to droop her head, eyeing up the path they were taking towards the hall.

After an extended silence, the pair arrived at the dinner hall. Long, oak tables ran vertically across the room, seating many students already deep in conversation and laughter. The smells of various foods filled the air; pastries, meats, cheeses and various puddings that were so magnificent that they looked like a creation from Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory itself. They decided to sit opposite each other at the end of the bench, distancing themselves away from the other students and began to pick at the food served on the table, placing an array of cheeses and meats on their plates.

"I saw you take Biology from your books, I do too." John pointed out, desperate to make some friendly conversation and break the silence without being too personal. "I guess you want to do something along the science path?"

"I am unsure. I am conflicted between the medical science route or a more humanitarian based route. I take History too." Molly replied with a mouthful of cheese.  
John picked at his food, dragging it across the plate. After the events of today he just was not hungry. He lifted his head to face Molly. "What other subjects do you take?"

"Chemistry and Geography." Molly replied quickly. She swallowed the final mouthful of her food and placed her fork on her plate, neatly aligned against the knife. "How about you?"

"Chemistry, Biology, Maths, English Language." John replied, surrendering his fork to his plate, "I want to be a doctor." His voice trailed off as he remembered telling Stamford the exact same ambition.

"Which home class?" Molly asked, attentively, "that is if you actually know your home class."

"Oh. I've got it here!" John exclaimed, reaching into his inside blazer pocket and retrieving a crumpled piece of paper. He smoothed out the edges against the table, revealing once again the lettering on it. "12B."

"Same as me!" Molly squealed in delight. John was surprised by her enthusiasm, but was secretly pleased that he now had a familiar face to find in the crowd that will be his home class. They both shared a warm smile that made John relax, however one thought was still playing at the back of his mind.

"Molly. In the IT corridor, I came across these people who called themselves 'Sparrow' and 'Owl'. One of them was a female and the other was male, rather tall. I was wondering whether you knew anything about this?" John asked hesitantly. He looked at his thumbs directly after, twirling them around each other, trying to relax. He felt that he had over-stepped the line and he was in no position to over-step it, but he couldn't stop thinking about it.

Molly jerked her head to the side in thought and inhaled as to explain the situation in full knowledge, however, she felt a strong hand on her shoulder.  
"John Watson. Hello! I'm Greg, but everybody calls me by my last name, Lestrade."

The boy had floppy brown hair and soft, brown eyes similar to Molly's. His uniform was very neat, apart from the mud splashes up the back of his trousers that indicated that he was outdoors rather a lot, probably involved in a sport. He had his hand outstretched, which John received and shook firmly. "Hi Lestrade." John said calmly with a subtle hint of annoyance at the intruder.

"Look, I am not normally one to eavesdrop but I couldn't help but hear you mention some things about a select few birds. Some things are never to be meddled in, John. Be careful." Greg warned John with great sincerity. "People have been hurt due to their curiosity. Do not be one of them."

John forced a smile at Lestrade, whom was turning and walking briskly out of the dinner hall. He turned to face Molly, who looked shaken. John opened his mouth to speak but Molly held her hand out to interrupt him, "He is right. Maybe we should get heading back too. I'll show you to your room."

With that, Molly shot up and left the dinner hall with a quick pace, leaving John to follow awkwardly behind her. As soon as he caught up with her, gasping for breath, they were outside the dorms. "You are in room 221B, the door is unlocked."

John took in a deep breath and approached the doors. "Wait." He said, starting to turn his head back. "How did you know I-" He stopped mid-sentence as he realised Molly had disappeared. He faced the door with a sigh, approaching it with caution.

It took John a few minutes to find his room after following the twists and turns of the dorm corridors which took the energy out of him, causing him to yawn intensely. He fumbled with the handle, thrusting the door open abruptly and looking around the dark, blue room. He sat on the bottom bunk, kicking his black school shoes off underneath the bed and continued to undress, leaving all his uniform scattered across the floor. Finally nestled under the stripped red and white covers of his new bed, he drifted off to sleep, dreaming of a simple existence where nothing was hidden.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to mary_w_marlowe and LifeUpended for the lovely feedback on the last chapter, which caused me to update this story so quickly! Saving anyone from procrastination is a blessing in itself!
> 
> I have a lot of ideas for this story, so hopefully things will start picking up and some mysteries will start solving and forming. I am so excited!
> 
> As always, comments will be greatly appreciated ^-^

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this chapter at around 2am, I was just incredibly excited for this project! ^-^ Feedback is appreciated


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